


aftermath

by nobraincellsjustbees



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Songs of War (Cartoon)
Genre: (its kinda the whole point of this fic), 2am feels got me typin all night, 2nd person POV, Gen, Grief, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loss, SPOILER WARNING FOR SEASON 3, also no idea what to rate it currently rated T to be on the safe side, angst (i think??), if im missing any tags PLEASE let me know, implied panic attack, no beta we die like thalleous, please turn back now if you haven't read up through S3E3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29706726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobraincellsjustbees/pseuds/nobraincellsjustbees
Summary: aftermath/ˈaftərˌmaTH/nounthe consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event); the outcome of an event especially as relative to an individual.Another loss.You have to move on.Another death.You find that you can’t.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 5





	aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> again guys, if im missing any tags or the rating should be different *please* let me know, im a bit new to this.

* * *

**aftermath** /ˈaftərˌmaTH/

_noun_

the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event); the outcome of an event especially as relative to an individual

* * *

You see the smoke long before you arrive. You expect it, of course. You all heard the same message.

It still hurts all the same. _Still reminds you of then. Reminds you of when—_

 _No!_ You won’t think of _that_.

 _It will be different_ , you tell yourself.

You reach the river. The lifeless eye of the Elder Guardian stares back.

At least you won’t have to relive _that_ , you think bitterly.

You do, however, have to swim across. 

_It will be different,_ you tell yourself again as you climb out onto the opposite bank. _It won’t be like_ that.

You see a corpse not too far down the road. Broken glass lines the path as far as the eye can see.

 _It will be different_ —

You’re fairly certain that you’re lying to yourself now.

 _Then let me believe a lie_ , you think as you pass the corpse.

You knew them. You’d see them in the library most times. Said it was their goal to read every book in there. You see a book in their arms. You wonder if they ever got to read it; if they ever reached their goal.

 _There are survivors_ , you think. _There have to be._

The corpses you continue to see don’t inspire much hope.

Until you see movement on one of the islands.

It’s near the smithy.

You start running. Someone calls your name.

 _Survivors! There_ are _survivors!_

You then see who it is.

It’s the Enderqueen. And her dragon. And…

“Val?”

The Mendoris freezes, then looks over her shoulder. Not a single word is said as she meets your gaze, tears carving trails in her ash-stained face.

Slowly, she turns to face you. A single Song rests in her hands.

A Supporium.

Nothing _needs_ to be said.

She doesn’t have to tell you whose it is.

~~_Was._ ~~

You know all too well. 

You saw it on the shelf when you first arrived, tucked away in the corner, as if someone _wanted_ to forget about it but never could.

You asked him about it. He told you to ignore it. ~~_As he did_.~~

When you asked again, he hid it.

You decided not to risk a search.

He showed it to you much later, just before you learned to wield yours.

_“This is the only one I have left.” He told you. “I gave all the others away.”_

You wonder where the others might have gone. Is one of them yours now, passed on from brother to brother; lost, then reclaimed? Or were they distant by then?

~~_The sword feels heavy on your back. You briefly wonder if he was the one forged it._ ~~

The Enderqueen looks on without a word. She stares at the Song, then at the helmet in her hands. And cries.

That helmet. That armor. She told you he’d forged it for her. _Does she know it was that Song that enabled him to?_

You shake your head. _She was there,_ you remember. _Of_ course _she would know._

 _And yet she failed,_ your mind nags. _All that he did, and she couldn’t repay him._

_Stop that, stop that—_

_Just as you failed to save his brother._

_Stop—_

You’re in the smithy. You don’t remember how.

A bird whistles overhead, oblivious to the carnage.

_“Have you come for fresh tools…”_

You think you can hear someone calling your name.

_You think you can hear the strike of a hammer on an anvil._

You hear a faint crackle from the furnace. You’d like to think the coals are fresh. That any moment now he’ll ask you to fetch the wood from around the side.

_You think you can hear a voice._

_“…or do you require repairs of your own?”_

Tools can be repaired. Wounds can be bandaged. But nothing can fix this.

Another loss.

You have to move on.

Another death.

You find that you can’t.

Another home, destroyed.

You stand amidst the ruined smithy in silence for what feels like an eternity. 

_Go! There’s nothing left for you._

~~_Again._ ~~

But you can’t move—

_g… to at.r…xia_

You can’t breath—

~~_Is it just you, or is the air thick?_ ~~

_y. .ill be s.f…r th.re_

You can’t hear—

_r.n. S…n_

~~_Are those… swords?_ ~~

Your vision blurs.

A flash of red.

_No._

Metal glints in the firelight.

Blue markings.

Red blood.

_No—_

You sink to your knees as a sob escapes your lips. _No!_ You clamp a hand over your mouth. _You can’t! Not now! Not now—_

You feel a hand on your shoulder. You don’t know whose it is, they don’t say. You don’t think you could’ve remembered if they did.

Their hand doesn’t leave until the Captain calls them away.

You find yourself by the stables. You don’t remember leaving the smithy. They must have led you out.

“…the horses broke free,” you hear someone say.

The horses… you struggle to think-

Timber.

Right. You left him here when you left for Meridian.

He’s gone too, it seems.

 _The Voltaris really have taken most everything, haven’t they_ , you think as you trek back to base with the team. Or rather, with what remains of them. 

There, they determine the next course of action. You set out almost immediately.

Val approaches you the night before you leave. You sit against the wall in silence, the both of you. Minutes pass.

“Is this what it felt like?” she asks, finally.

“Like what?”

“Your home. Losing Thalleous.”

You look up and meet her gaze.

Another minute passes. You look away. And you nod.

“Yeah,” you say. “That’s what it felt like.”

You leave before anything else can be said.

The Tidesinger pulls you aside the next morning. “I saw you in the forge,” he says. “Are you alright?”

You want to tell him the truth and say no. That you’re not alright. That you haven’t been since- since Sendaria.

You shake your head. You don’t have time for this. The world cannot wait.

But you can.

~~_You think._ ~~

You lie and tell him you’re fine.

He nods in response, then leaves to discuss something with the Captain. 

And, just like that, you force yourself to move on.

For now, at least.


End file.
